Last night aboard a red-eye flight from Miami to San Francisco, coming home from a site visit and exhausted from days of travel, a potential solution to a tricky problem occurred to me. The only piece of paper I had was a newspaper. I found a corner of the paper without newsprint and tore it off. I filled this up with calculations quickly and then started writing on the cocktail napkin the stewardess gave me with a soda. When I filled up the napkin with calculations, the man seated next to me gave me a piece of scratch paper. I did all the calculations without a calculator and without any formulas. I rounded my calculations and reasoned out close approximations to complex formulas. I was not interested in the exact answer, but rather wanted to get a feel for the solution.

Going back in time, the next part of the picture was the Thursday SEAONC seminar at the PG&E Auditorium where Charlie Kircher, David Bonneville and Mark Jokerst gave presentations about the changes in the 1997 UBC. In listening to their talks, what struck me was that most of the changes to the code are simply regulations to enforce good practice. Take for example redundancy and the penalty that the 1997 UBC will impose on the seismic force level if you design a building with the minimum number of lines of resistance. As discussed, if you are designing a steel frame building with minimal redundancy you can use an Rw=12 (1994 UBC) in the denominator of the base shear equation, but must use a redundancy penalty of 1.5 in the numerator. In effect, this gives you an Rw of 8 (1994/1997 UBC equivalent). Now if you talk to Ed Zacher about the development of Rw during ATC 3-06 in the 1970s, he will tell you that an Rw of 12 for a steel frame building was intended for a "complete: steel frame. "Complete" meaning a moment connection at every possible girder-to-column connection. So perhaps we are heading back to a good idea. Go through the seminar notes and you will see how many other code changes really are codification of good practice.

The third thing that happened to me last week was that one of my clients asked me to look at two buildings in the Bay area that he was buying. Both buildings are high-rise structures, one building was built in the 1950s and the other in the 1970s. The 1950s building was an incredibly elegant structure as it related to seismic forces. This buildings seismic design was done by hand calculation. Not recognizing the name of the exceptional structural engineer who designed this building, I did some investigation and discovered, not surprisingly, that the engineer was a contemporary of Brunnier, and was a well-respected structural engineer. Without boring you with all the many design innovations, I will just say that this guy addressed the moment connection problem that 40 years later has haunted structural engineers since Northridge. The other building I looked at, the 1970s building, although built to a later code, was at the other end of the seismic design spectrum. I could tell this by just looking at the structural drawings (i.e., redundancy, torsion, load path, system, etc.)

Although I said I was going to discuss three things that happened to me, I lied. The moral to this story will involve something that happened to me today. I am involved with a great project using performance-based design to evaluate and retrofit an existing high-rise building. While I do not believe that performance-based design is the solution to all the problems in our profession (and I would like to address other important areas of concern such as plan check quality, construction quality, professional license regulations, the 2000 International Building Code, public perception of structural engineers, etc. in future articles), I do think performance-based design should be recognized as a tool for designing good buildings. In my opinion, performance-based design’s "key use" is to facilitate the ability of the engineer to get a "feel" for how the building will respond during an earthquake. I think we lost that key ingredient in the 1970s and 80s when the computer became a crutch to quality engineering. Maybe ten years from now, when we look back on the 1990s, this period will be seen as a turning point in our profession -- a point where the engineer reinstituted practicing the art of structural engineering.

Pat Buscovich

The second in the Seismic Design Seminar Series will be held Jan. 7 at 3:30-5:30 p.m. Topics are

Dynamic Analysis, by Sampson Huang, and Non-Structural Items & Non-Building Structures, by Bob Bachman.

A seminar on Residential Steel Stud Framing will be held from 1:30 –5 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 15 at the Ventura County Government Center Administration Building, 800 S. Victoria Ave., Ventura. Cost: $40 at the door, $35 before Jan. 9. The program will cover design and construction methods acceptable for residential building construction with light-gauge steel framing focusing on recently adopted "Prescriptive Method for Residential Cold-Framed Steel Framing" by the Council of American Building Officials (CABO) including design and structural details for headers, beams, columns, bearing walls, shear walls, roof and floor framing and diaphragms and floor, bearing/shear wall connections to foundation.

Date: Wednesday Jan. 7

Subject: Proprietary Moment Frame Connections: An Economical System for San Diego County

Speaker: Steve Punch

Time: Social Hour: 5:30 p.m. Dinner: 6:30 p.m., Program: 8 p.m.

Location: Luminarias Restaurant, 3500 Ramona Blvd., Monterey Park

Reservations: Deadline: Noon, Monday, Jan. 5 by phone or fax 24 hours.

Cost: $22; $10 for students

Program: Development of the 2000 Intl. Building Code, Chapters 16-25 (structural provisions) – Only Two Years Left!

Speaker: Susan Dowty, ICBO

Time: Social hour: 5:30 p.m., Dinner: 6:30 p.m., Program: 8 p.m.

Location: Costa Mesa Country Club, 1701 Golf Course Dr., Costa Mesa

Reservations: Deadline: Noon Monday, Jan. 12 by phone or fax 24 hours.

Cost: $22, $10 for students

Three new documents produced by the SAC Steel Project as part of the FEMA program to reduce the earthquake hazards of steel moment frame structures have been published by FEMA.

FEMA 267A, Interim Guidelines Advisory No. 1. This document contains updates to the previously published FEMA 267, Interim Guidelines: Evaluation, Repair, Modification and Design of Welded Steel Moment Frame Structures. Advisory No. 1 is only a supplement to, and cannot be used without, the Interim Guidelines, which are also available free from FEMA as described below. The Guidelines and Advisory No. 1 contain recommendations widely used by engineers and building officials in the U.S.

FEMA 288, Background Reports: Metallurgy, Fracture Mechanics, Welding, Moment Connections and Frame Systems Behavior. This report contains a large amount of information on the topics indicated in the title, which has been produced by means of analytical studies, testing, and studies of industry and engineering practices.

FEMA 289, Connection Test Summaries. Test procedures and results of numerous steel beam-column connections are summarized in this report, which includes the testing conducted recently in the SAC Steel Project as well as testing conducted by others. Each testing study has been summarized in a brief and consistent format. The report is intended to be of use to practicing engineers as well as researchers and laboratories involved with testing.

These publications are available at no charge by calling FEMA toll-free at 1-800-480-2520.

(SAC is a joint venture of SEAOC, Applied Technology Council [ATC], and California Universities for Research in Earthquake Engineering [CUREE]. The SAC Steel Project is funded by FEMA.)

Upcoming work includes review of IBC 2000 First Draft, review of SEAOC Design Applications Manual drafts, presentation of SEAOSC micro-seminar series on the new seismic provisions of the 1997 UBC, and attendance at the BSSC Convention as SEAOSC delegate.

Other activities include steel subcommittee activities related to the welded moment connection issue. Formation of the Ad-Hoc SEAOC Steel Committee and SEAOSC Joint Steel Committee, preparation of material for the upcoming Blue Book Supplement, performance-based engineering coordination with SEAOC Ad-Hoc Committee and coordination with the Existing Building Committee on composite fiber reinforcing for concrete structures.

The last meeting was Dec. 16 and the next meeting will be ______. Committee members are Dirk Bondy, Rami Elhassan, Orhan Gurbuz, Saiful Islam, Martin Johnson, Marshall Lew, Mark Lowe, Peter Maranian, and Bill Nelson. The SEAOSC Board contact is Farzad Naeim at 213-483-3084.

Charles is a senior structural engineer with OSHPD/State of California in Los Angeles and has been a SEAOSC member since 1977.

To be eligible for Fellow, an ASCE member must be a legally registered engineer or land surveyor and have had responsibility spanning not less than 10 years in the grade of ASCE Member. The member also must be qualified to direct, plan or design engineering works. An ASCE member may also become a Fellow if he or she has had responsible charge of important industrial, business, construction, educational, editorial, research or engineering society activity requiring the knowledge and background gained from engineering training and experience.

Ka-Kui Kwong, Lieu Le, Edward B. Lee, Jae-Chull Lee, Joseph K. Leonard, Seymour Liao, David K.T. Lo, Leng Lor, John Manios, Dougals J. Marsh, Vicki L. Vance May, David McCloskey, Kevin P. McCune, Jeffrey McIntyre, William E. Milburn, Ronald N. Mones, Daryoosh Monjezi, Nasser Motavvef, Martin Alan Muska, George C. Nasr, H. James Nevin, Justin, Viet Nguyen, Tam Tan Nguyen, Olufunke A. Ojuri, Danny E. Ozair, Michael N. Palaskas, Natwerlal P. Patel, James T. Pellon, Hung Q. Pham, Max A. Pinedo, John G. Posadas, Rupa Purasinghe, Melvin Rebstock Jr., Herman R. Reuter, Christopher J. Richter, Philip J. Richter, Greg Riley, Clark W. Robins, Victor M. Robles, Rob Rodgers, William D. Rome, Shlomo Ronen, Conrado G. Roxas, Bijan K. Roy, John Safi, Mohammad R. Salehi, Bruce Saltman, David M. Schafer, Hussein Senan, Lee Seum, Kamal R. Shah, Arif H. Shamim, Marian P. Shaw, William L. Shaw, David A. Sheppard, Paul Shin, Richard H. Shiotsugu, Valentin Shustov, Ara Simonian, Jerry Simonian, Manwendra K. Sinha, Elwood A. Smietana, John E. Sochrens, Jean R. Spencer, Mark A. Stan, Warren A. Stewart, John Stopforth, Steven E. Strapac, Blaise J. Subbiondo, Gary Tanner Jr., Wen H. Tong, Nyima W. Tsundu,

Emily S. Ueda, Louis R. Valenzuela, John W. Wallace, Rossiter L. White, John D. Williams, John H. Woodruff, Kenneth J. Woodward Jr., David H. Workman, Mark K. Worthge, Jack Yaghoubian, Carla V. Yland, Rak H. Yun, Benigno S. Yuzon Jr., and John X. Zheng

Donation
SEAOSC thanks Tarek Moktar for his donation of $25 in November.

EQE, a privately held California Corporation founded in 1981, specializes in the assessment and management of the risks of commercial and industrial operations and public agencies with emphasis on natural hazards such as earthquakes, hurricanes, fires and floods. EQE also specializes in structural integrity analysis and design and structural repairs, upgrades, alterations and renovations for structures and equipment.

The acquisition brings EQE’s worldwide staff to 500. EQE is headquartered in San Francisco with offices in Irvine, St. Louis, Houston, Seattle, Denver, and Boston as well as in the U.K., Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, Chile, France, Bulgaria and Spain. PLG is headquartered in Newport Beach with offices in Houston, Washington D.C., Richland, WA; and Seoul.

The Third Annual Seminar of the Forensic Engineering Technical Group of ASCE will be held May 15 at UC, Irvine. This year’s theme is "The Future of Forensic Engineering."

Topics will include the effects of recent case law on construction defect litigation, the future of mediation in settling complex disputes, the use of experts in resolving construction claim disputes, experts from a judge’s perspective, and ethical challenges for expert witnesses.

The seminar will run from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and will include continental breakfast and lunch, parking and workshop materials. Cost: $125 prepaid or $140 at the door. Exhibit space is available. For more information, call Richard Foley at 714-549-9595. Last year’s workshop sold out early, so make reservations now.

This award was established by AIPG’s executive committee in 1982 in recognition of one of its primary purposes: service to the public. The award was renamed in posthumous honor of John T. Galey, was AIPG’s fourth president, whose long professional career was a continuum of service to the geological and general public.

James holds a Ph.D. from USC and became professor of geology at the Los Angeles Valley Community College, where he also served as chair of the geology department from 1950 through 1965. He went on to work for the City and County of L.A. and the State of California. He conducted a workshop at USC on seismic mitigation management for seaports, volunteered to develp basic applied geology programs for the education and training of grading inspectors and engineers and presented numerous talks on earthquakes, landslides and other geologic hazards. He has published more than 100 articles emphasizing the geologic processes associated with landslides, sedimentation and flooding. He co-authored a book published in 1992 titled, "Forensic Engineering: Environmental Case Histories for Civil Engineers and Geologists."

Want to attend a SEAOSC seminar but are a little short of cash? Volunteer for the SEAOSC House Committee, which aids with check-ins at SEAOSC seminars and dinner meetings. Working House Committee members get in free. This is a great opportunity for young engineers, retirees, or anyone with time to arrive an hour early. Call the SEAOSC office today.

The Committee hosted another successful seminar, Engineering & Inspection ’97: The Structural Observer and the Inspector in May, 1997. This program attempted to clarify some issues regarding the roles of inspectors and engineers in structural observation and further discussed the requirements of special inspectors. The goal for this series has been to raise the level of dialogue between the inspector and the engineer.

There has been continued ongoing participation in the most successful standards organization, ASTM, with Committee E-36 on Conformity Assurance and has resulted in the re-issuance of F-329-95-C, a standards document now modified to set the criteria for an inspection agency in construction. This has resulted in the development of a program for the accreditation of inspection agencies through an internationally recognized accrediting body, the American Association for Laboratory Accreditation (A2LA). In the Northwest, specifically WABO country (Washington Area Building Officials), some of the test labs are seeking additional accreditation as inspection agencies. Accreditation is a much-needed step towards quality assurance and makes strong strides towards conformity with the ISO 9000 community.

We have worked with the City of Santa Monica in recently upgrading their deputy inspection requirements. We have worked with an ICBO Basin Chapter working committee for the development of a regional inspector registration program and made presentations before the membership of the Basin Chapter.

We worked with ICBO-ES towards the development of inspection agency accreditation criteria, which resulted in a very well written program. The Board of Directors of ICBO-ES, however, has the program on hold at this time while they work out liability issues that may result from their certification of the individual Inspectors if they also accredit the inspection agency.

The drilled-in anchor inspector qualification program sponsored by the IPC is very successfully up and running with the City of L.A., offering assurance to the design community of the competency of inspection personnel.

The DSA testing requirements for Inspectors has changed significantly, a concept which we supported in a meeting with Villas Mujumbar from the DSA Sacramento office several years ago.

Thank you for the opportunity to be of service.

Retrofit of Building With Flexible Diaphragms and Review of Updated Commentary, 10/97, 1" binder. Members: $40

Practical Design & Detailing Seminar Series Notes:

Constructibility Review, 9/97, 63 pages. Members: $13.

Seismic Detailing Examples for Engineered Light-Frame Timber, 4/97, 48 pages. Members: $13.

The Structural Observer and the Inspector, 3/97, 1" binder. Members: $40

Existing Non-Ductile Concrete Buildings and Div. 95 of L.A. City Building Code, 11/96, 1" binder. Members: $40

New Methodology in Structural Design, 9/96, 1" binder. Members: $40

Passive Energy Dissipation Systems for New and Existing Buildings Symposium, 7/96, 1" binder. Members: $40

Steel Moment Resisting Frame (SMRF) Connecting Systems Bulletin No. 3, 3/97, $15

FEM-1 Finite Element Analysis Computer Software Program, Ver. 110;, 11/93, ½" thick manual; 3-1/2" diskette. Members: $75.

Grossman & Speer Associates, Inc. of Glendale is expanding. We are interested in engineers at all levels with a minimum of C.E. license and good communication skills. Please, no calls. Fax resume to 818-507-1556.

Howard and Van Sande Structural Consultants seeks civil/structural engineer with a minimum of two years experience and proficiency in Type V construction (wood, concrete, steel and masonry), seismic strengthening and renovation of existing buildings. Send resume to 1 N. Salsipuedes, Ste. 200, Santa Barbara, CA 93103.

The Allen Company, Orange County, seeks S.E. Must have five years of structural design and detailing experience in steel, concrete, masonry and wood construction. Perform PML studies and building inspections. Exceptional written and verbal skills and experience with ETABS, SAP90, DRAIN required. M.S. degree preferred. Fax: 714-363-5848.

Saiful/Bouquet Inc. seeks structural engineers for building design and seismic consulting. Emphasis on concrete and steel structures. Range of positions available. M.S.C.E. preferred. Good communications skills, CAD experience desired. Send resume, salary history to 110 W. Bellevue Dr., Ste. 1, Pasadena, CA 91105 or fax to 626-304-2676

San Francisco firm seeks enthusiastic, dedicated structural engineer for major commercial and government buildings (domestic and international). Requirements: M.S.C.E. or equivalent, excellent computer skills and two plus years experience. Send resume to Middlebrook & Louie, 71 Stevenson St., Ste. 2100, San Francisco, CA 94105.

Parsons has positions in Pasadena and Korea for structural engineers with minimum 10 years experience and experienced in A & E design with emphasis on buildings including construction support. Good oral, written and computer skills. Send resume to Parsons HRD/REM, 100 W. Walnut St., Pasadena, CA 91124, or fax: 626-440-4919.

Established and growing Structural Engineering firm seeks to fill two engineering positions for its Sacramento office. Senior Project Engineer with 5+ years of experience and design engineer with 2+ years of experience. Firm’s focus is schools and hospital facilities, as well as public and commercial projects. ZFA has offices in Santa Rosa, Sacramento and San Francisco.

We are now fully accredited in compliance with the Inspection Body criteria of ASTM E 329-95C, "Standard Specification for Agencies Engaged in the Testing and/or Inspection of Materials Used in Construction." This makes us the first construction inspection agency to be accredited in California!

We have insisted on a high level of quality in Field Inspections. We are a small firm which chooses not to sacrifice quality for volume; a tightly knit group of dedicated professionals who would like the opportunity to work with your organization.

Sandy Pringle, President

STRUCTURAL INSPECTION COSULTANTS, INC.

(800) 598-1970 Fax (310) 376-5294